Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 712: Tournament [Castle Bonus - ]

Asher’s eyes couldn’t help but shift towards Teo Swig, he could sense the immense presence emanating from the boy, he had always been curious about the strength people at the third-year level possessed, and looking at Teo Swig, Asher had his answer, clear and unquestionable.

’He is strong,’ Asher thought to himself.

It had to be known that most people in the first rank in any year rarely ever dropped from their ranking, just like how Asher had remained in his ranking for the past ten months, and how Thalric had remained in his for the past year till now, Teo Swig had also held his own rank without falling off once, a testament not only to his talent but to his consistency and resilience.

Amongst the commoners of the Viscount territory he hailed from, he was their pride, a symbol of what was possible even without noble lineage.

Asher shook his head, his eyes tore away from Teo Swig, as he closed his eyes and decided to wait for thirty minutes to pass since the event started at ten o’clock on the dot, and with that, he slept off again, his body entering a light rest without any concern for his surroundings.

The moment thirty minutes passed, Asher’s eyes snapped open at the system’s notification, and at that exact moment, the lights within the hall immediately dimmed, the whispers and murmuring that filled the hall vanished instantly as no student dared to speak at this moment, the atmosphere shifting into one of absolute focus.

In front of them was a stage, their eyes were fixed on it, and the next moment, space rippled into a swirling portal, distorting reality itself as though it were a mere fabric, and from it, Cindralis, the Space Goddess, stepped out with calm ease, her beauty as graceful as ever, untouched by time or circumstance.

She faced the students the moment she arrived, there was no one with her, not the Vice Principal, nor any Instructor, it was just her, standing alone yet commanding the attention of all present without effort.

"I know most of you have been dying of curiosity for the past seven months, as your parents told you to train harder, and the Logistics and Missions Operations Hall has been shut down, so I will get straight to the point," she began to speak, her voice low yet reaching everyone regardless of the distance, as though space itself bent to her will to carry her words.

"All of you were born within the Zarethorne Empire, protected by Emperor Zolthemir Lux Vanthelmor, and now, you stand within this Academy, learning under me for free," she continued calmly, "but the time to repay the Star Academy and the Empire has come," her words carrying a quiet finality.

At her words, expressions shifted as they wondered what she meant by "repay," curiosity, confusion, and anticipation flickering across different faces, but they didn’t speak, they simply allowed her to continue without interruption.

"The four Empires of Crymora have an arrangement that occurs once every twenty years," Cindralis continued, "an Inter-Empire tournament where every Academy within each Empire is allowed to show off their young geniuses, and this year marks the twentieth year since the last tournament," she paused briefly, allowing the weight of her words to settle.

"The winner of this tournament is bestowed with rewards which are gathered by the four Empires, which is needless to say," she continued, "now, the requirements, rules, types of battles, and mode of the tournament differ each time. Sometimes only one person is allowed to represent the Empire, sometimes a group of two, or ten, or a hundred, it varies every single time, meaning, right now, neither I nor you knows the rules of the incoming tournament," she paused again, her gaze sweeping across the hall as she observed the reactions.

Everyone was indeed stunned, none of them had guessed this... well, except Asher, who had considered the possibility but couldn’t be sure, as it had merely been one guess among many. Even Thalric, who maintained an expressionless face at almost all times, had a faint but visible trace of shock on his face.

This was a battle against another Empire, the rewards that were gathered by four Empires would be immense, beyond what most of them had ever encountered, besides, the prestige, the honor, the fame, the wealth, everything that came with winning such a tournament was undeniably tempting. Although none of them knew what the tournament would entail, they all could guess one thing, the tournament would ultimately result in only one thing; battle and bloodshed.

Crymora was a world of blood, death, and betrayal, surely this tournament wasn’t one where they would be brought to display intellect in trivial contests or solve harmless riddles, it would be far more ruthless.

"Every single one of you is a potential candidate, after all, the rules this time around can decide not to test the best but test the ten weakest students of all Academies," Cindralis continued, "so, in one month, every single person seated within this hall shall be sent to the Thalvorn Empire to represent the Zarethorne Empire," Cindralis stated, her tone flat.

Her words were like a bomb in everyone’s mind, initially they had thought the competition would be held here, but now, they were being told they would be sent to the Thalvorn Empire. Happiness and curiosity burned within them, who didn’t want to visit another Empire? They all certainly did. To experience foreign lands, encounter unfamiliar cultures, interact with different people, and witness things beyond their current understanding.

But then, their excitement immediately halted as a thought struck them: a month.

Whispers started to rise, murmurs growing louder, questioning why the announcement hadn’t been made earlier, if it had been made earlier, they would have trained harder, that way, their chances of winning would be higher. Besides, what if the other three Empires had already been preparing for a year while they only had a month to prepare.

Cindralis didn’t shout any words like ’silence,’ she simply released a trace of her existential presence, not even her pressure, and immediately, the entire hall felt the weight, every sound was erased on the spot, eyes snapped towards her as she stood silently, gazing down at them as though they were utterly foolish.

"While I understand your concern and logic, but unfortunately for you, I do not operate in such a way," she began to speak again, "if you needed something like this tournament to push yourself to your limits every single day and progress, then you were never meant to be in my Separate Dimension, you were never meant to participate in this tournament," her words flat, brisk, and devoid of any form of sugarcoating.

Just as she had said, she was simply that kind of woman. When Malrik had unleashed a storm of golden-orange sword attacks upon her Separation Dimension, causing chaos and destruction, she didn’t move to help, she had simply watched at the time, believing that her subordinates were becoming too accustomed to peace and needed a reminder of reality.

If she could watch her own Separate Dimension burn down without interference, what was a single competition? What was twenty more years to her, who possessed a lifespan that was rumoured to rival even Sinvairas, beings spoken of only in legends.

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Bonus Chapter sponsored by the_gaming_weirdo